Arroyo accused of playing politics with justice
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been accused of playing politics with the Philippine justice system by issuing a spate of presidential pardons and commuting the sentences of politically connected convicts.
The beneficiaries have included convicted rapists, murderers and plunderer and former president Joseph Estrada. The latest recipient of presidential clemency is former congressman Romeo Jalosjos, 67, a child rapist whose family backed Mrs Arroyo in three elections.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales credited politics for Jalosjos' sentence being slashed by Mrs Arroyo. Mr Gonzales said: 'Jalosjos has two congressmen [relatives] - one sister and one brother - and that is a pressure point. The political undertones here are something which you cannot ignore.'
In April, a month before the congressional elections, Mrs Arroyo reduced to 16 years Jalosjos' two life sentences, equivalent to 108 years. This was despite Jalosjos' refusal to pay the 800,000 pesos (HK$148,000) in damages the court awarded to his 11-year-old victim in 1996.
Jalosjos' younger brother Cesar and younger sister Cecilia both belong to Mrs Arroyo's Kampi party.
The commutation also enabled Jalosjos to leave a maximum security prison and acquire a 'living out' status. Jalosjos told a local TV station that this allowed him to go outside the penitentiary to a nearby exclusive community in which his wife and five-month-old daughter lived.
He was only required to report to prison authorities early in the morning and late in the afternoon, he said.
Jalosjos was apparently not content with this arrangement. On Sunday, he walked free from jail, armed with a release order signed by jail authorities. But Mr Gonzalez got wind of the plan, had him recalled and said Jalosjos would only be eligible for release in 2009. Nevertheless, Jalosjos bragged yesterday that he would be freed 'within days'.
Mr Gonzales disclosed that Mrs Arroyo had given executive clemency to another controversial convict. He said anti-communist civilian militia leader Norberto Manero would be released next month for humanitarian reasons. In 1985, Manero received a life sentence after he killed Italian priest Tulio Favali for allegedly aiding leftists and then ate his heart. Mr Gonzales said that unlike Jalosjos, Manero was ill and eligible for release. Manero has continued to enjoy support from some sections of the military, whose support is crucial to Mrs Arroyo.
Another beneficiary of Mrs Arroyo's forays into the justice system could be rapist-murderer Paco Larranaga, a Spaniard who is jailed in the Philippines, where he holds dual citizenship. Arroyo ally Senator Miriam Santiago recently sponsored the ratification of a new treaty on prisoner exchange with Spain, which is seeking his custody in preference.
Spain has been a prominent international supporter of the Arroyo government.
'[Larranaga] will be the most celebrated beneficiary of the treaty because he is a dual citizen,' Senator Santiago said. But she added that 10 Filipinos languishing in Spanish jail would also benefit.
Arroyo critic Senator Richard Gordon accused Mrs Arroyo of making politically motivated deals regarding convicted criminals. 'Yes, I am faulting her,' he said. 'Are pardons only for presidents? Are pardons only for the rich?' he asked, referring to Mrs Arroyo's release of Mr Estrada, 43 days after he was given a life sentence for plunder.
In Mr Estrada's case, Mrs Arroyo said she had to consider the sentiments of the poor who still supported the former president.
Presidential legal counsel Sergio Apostol said Mrs Arroyo had listened to the public when she decided that Jalosjos should not be released. 'He's still in jail. This is proof to our critics that we have a listening president who has seen that there is a public clamour to deny him [Jalosjos] clemency, that this is not the right time to release him,' Mr Apostol said.
Last month, a soldier convicted of assassinating former senator Benigno Aquino in 1983 was pardoned and released. His son, Senator Benigno Aquino III, who has often called for Mrs Arroyo to resign, called the release 'a vengeful act against our family'.
